'We need to be at our best' - Christian Pulisic urges USMNT to perform after Canada defeat

U.S. Men's National Team star Christian Pulisic has called upon his team to take New Zealand "very seriously" after suffering an upset against Canada in Kansas City this weekend.

The USMNT started their post-Gregg Berhalter era in forgettable fashion on Saturday, suffering their first loss to Canada on home soil in 67 years. There have been question marks over the team's player leadership following that result.

Pulisic, who played all 90 minutes of that game, conceded in a press conference that his side didn't do enough to win in interim manager Varas' first game in charge.

"You're going to see a team that's hungry and is not happy about the last result, a team that is going to want to go out and fight and take this game very seriously," Pulisic said. "It's an opponent who's not going to give it to us. It's going to be a tough matchup. We need to be at our best tomorrow. Hopefully, we some guys that are really going to step up."

It has been a rough run of late for the USMNT. After crashing out of Copa America in the group stage, Berhalter was removed from his position following six years in charge. The U.S. have now lost three games in a row for the first time since 2015.

Varas admitted after the contest that the players didn't show enough on the day

"The mentality is on the players. Sorry, they know it,” Varas said. “That mentality to fight and to run and to sacrifice, I can’t do that for them. I can’t do that for them. That’s on them."

The U.S. will face New Zealand Tuesday in what will likely be their final friendly under Varas. Reports have mentioned new manager Mauricio Pochettino is set to be announced this week, and should take charge for the October international break.